Heineken Light Low Carb Beer

I run a low carb site so I've tried pretty much every light beer on the market. Also, when I was in college I drank mostly Heineken. Trying the Heineken Light was a given as soon as it hit the market in 2006. I then have updated the review over the years.

First off, Heineken Light has held steady, since its launch, at 6.8g of carbs. It's not really "very low carb" compared to many other beers on the market. You have to keep in mind that you're not saving a ton of carbs by drinking this. You could go much lower with other options on the market. That being said, it is less than regular Heineken, which has 9.8g so you could argue that if you were going to drink the regular stuff, at least you're saving yourself a bit by drinking this one.

Some people say Heineken is bitter. If you had a bitter Heineken you probably had a skunked Heineken. Some studies indicate that around half of all Heineken drunk in the US is skunked and that some people have gotten used to this flavor and think it's "normal". Try going to Europe sometime and drinking a Heineken there and see what it tastes like :).

Did you know a beer will skunk in under ten minutes if it's exposed to sunlight? The Heineken brewery makes the effort to use green bottles, which is certainly far better than clear bottles. However, it still won't prevent skunking.

On the other hand go to Busch Gardens sometime and take their beer course - it's only an hour or two and is a ton of fun. You'll find out that hops - a key part of beermaking - *are* bitter so a certain normal flavor in a beer should be a tang of bitterness. All properly made beers have that tang, because they contain hops. So another question might be if you're not a Heineken fan is if you're reacting to the skunkiness of a bad beer - or if you just don't like most hop-balanced beers in general because you don't like the natural taste of hops.

Some people like Heineken ice cold. The colder you drink the beer (i.e. straight from an ice barrel) the less flavor you get, so you wouldn't taste the bitter flavor or much of anything else :). If you're going to do that, I'd go for the lowest carb beer you can find since at that point it's not going to taste much different, and you might as well not deal with the extra carbs you are getting in the Heineken Light. If you're going to drink it at a more regular beer temperature then it's about the flavor you enjoy.

So what's my summary? I like Heineken. I like Heineken Light. Both are light, fresh beers, with a nice flavor balance. The light is of course fewer carbs / calories than the regular so if I was going to drink a Heineken, it makes sense for me to grab the light version. In general, though, at 6.8g per bottle, this isn't something to be drinking multiple bottles a day of. If you do, make sure it's an evening that you're out dancing!

Low Carb Beer Reviews – Low Carb Reference
Beer is an integral part of many peoples' lives. How do you drink beer and maintain a low carb, healthy diet? This book provides beer reviews, tips, and ideas for losing weight while enjoying beer.